North vs. South

The Civil War raged in America from 1861-1865, splitting it between North and South. Nearly 700,000 people from both sides lost their lives fighting a war whose meaning can be boiled down to one ideal, slavery. But with the masses of differing opinions on different subjects, how could an entire nation be brought down to one yes or no answer? The answer may lie in the psychological principals of group think and group mentality.
Group mentality is a social phenomenon seen in many aspects of society such as jobs, schools, and homes. It occurs when a group becomes completely polarized to a certain thought without any differing opinions. Though the members of the group may have slightly differing opinions to start with, over time those opinions blur into a set ideal. One modern example of this can be seen at football games. Each team has its own fans who think it is the better team, the fans may both look at the statistics showing the other team to truly be better, but they believe in their team either way. This however detracts from the thoughts of the individual until there is no individual, only a crowed of fans. The same effect can be seen in The Civil War. Although there may have been some dissenting opinion on one side at the beginning, during the midst of the war, the only thing separating people was their respective "team". Because people saw themselves as Northerners or Southerners, with no mid ground, there was no room for the individual mind.
In times such as this it is not uncommon for leaders to emerge. The only problem is that these leaders will tend not only to lead the actions of their people, but also their minds. This is known as group think. The individuals of a group make their decisions based solely on the thoughts of one member. When looking back at General Custard's last stand, it is obvious that the challenges his men faced would have been incredible. However because Custard wanted to fight, his men gave up their own rational thoughts for his. Lincoln himself became an icon to the North, and there were times in the war where his thoughts lead hundreds to fight.
When mankind tosses away its greatest gifts, rationality, reason, and thought, it delves into a darker and more primal state. Such large group movements as the Civil war can be seen in many other conflicts such as WWII Nazi vs. Jew, or the middle eastern Palestine Vs. Israeli. When the individual mind is taken away and people attribute themselves to something other than themselves, conflict arises. War will not end when all people share the same views, but when people are willing to think for themselves and not go with what the majority thinks, just to fit in. When individuality is taken away and the group mindset takes over, the world can be split in two.

Resources
~ Davis, Burke. "The Civil War, Strange and Fascinating Facts,". Wings, 1988.
~ http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/groups/groupthink.html
~ http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/2451